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Launch of Starlink Mini Dish and Mini Roam Service is a Go for the UK

Launch of Starlink Mini Dish and Mini Roam Service is a Go for the UK

We recently wrote about the launch of Starlink’s new Mini Dish and Mini Roam service – You can read all about it here. At time of publishing it wasn’t yet available in the UK and we were eagerly awaiting an email to say the service was ready for the UK to test. 

And that time has arrived! If you were an early adopter of the ultrafast, low-latency Starlink broadband service from SpaceX then you may have already received an email inviting you to be part of the testing phase of Starlink’s new Mini Dish hardware terminal as well as their Mini Roaming service add-on. 

The ultrafast and low-latency Starlink broadband service from Space X have now launched their new Wi-Fi (only 802.11ac / Wi-Fi 5) integrated Mini Dish (terminal) hardware and Mini Roaming service add-on here in the UK. The downside is that it’s a little more expensive than its USA counterpart.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, here is a quick recap on Starlink’s satellite broadband offering. 

What is Starlink Satellite Broadband and how does it work?

SpaceX Starlink currently has 6,171 LEO satellites in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of circa 550km. By the end of 2027 they will have added thousands more. 

Prices for UK residential customers generally start at £75 per month, plus Standard Plan hardware at a cost of £299. For these prices, the operator promises the following speeds:

  • Download – 25-100Mbps
  • Uploads – 5-10Mbps
  • Latency – 25-60ms 

By the end of last year, there were 42,000 Starlink customers in the UK (out of 2.3 million worldwide). This UK figure had almost quadrupled from the 13,000 UK customers in the previous year. 

Most UK Starlink customers can be found in more rural, remote areas. Those in the most remote areas (think oceans, small islands and places like Antarctica) will have the highest latency. 

New Mini Dish Launched in the USA

Back in June across the pond in the US, Starlink invited some of their early adopters to purchase their new Mini Kit (Dish) for $599, which could also come bundled with a new Mini Roam service – for an additional cost of $30 per month. 

In the interest of clarity, these prices are in additional to the existing subscription for residential Starlink broadband. 

The add on of the Mini Roam service gave customers the option of having 50 GB of ‘mobile data’ that they are able to use anywhere in the country. After that 50 GB, they are charged $1 per GB (approximately 81 pence). 

Starlink Launch Mini Dish and Mini Roam Service in UK 

The 1st of August saw the first emails landing in UK Starlink customer’s inboxes, offering this same above service for those in the UK. 

The emails laid out the cost of the new kit (£399) as well as the roaming service which comes in at an extra £50 per month – Rather more expensive than in the US. 

For those of you that are not Starlink customer’s but are desperate to see what’s on offer, here’s a copy of the email:

Starlink Mini Now Available

Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go.

Starlink Mini includes a built-in WiFi router, lower power consumption, DC power input, and max download speeds over 100 Mbps*. See Starlink Mini specifications here.

The Starlink Mini Kit can be purchased for £399 with either the Mini Roam 50GB service plan for £50/mo or the unlimited Mobile Regional plan for £85/mo. Learn more on starlink.com/roam.

Available Service Plans

Mini Roam 50GB | £50/mo
Best for weekend travelers, backup internet, and in-motion use

Includes 50GB of Mobile data (£1/GB for additional data), coverage throughout Europe, and in-motion use on land. See our Terms of Service regarding in-motion use.

Mobile Regional | £85/mo
Best for caravans, motorhomes, campers, and travelers throughout a continent

Includes unlimited Mobile data on land and coverage throughout Europe. Ocean and global travel available for an additional £1.98/GB.

Just to recap. The new dish – sized 298.5mm x 259mm x 38.5mm – is 63% lighter than the standard Starlink dish, has an operating temperature range of -30°C to 50°C (-22°F to 122°F), draws around 25-40 Watts on average and can run directly off 12-48V DC (it comes with a small 110V power supply with 15 metres of cable).

The kit is also IP67 Type 4 rated with their DC Power Cable and Starlink Plug/Cable installed (using the Ethernet port drops this rating). The dish has a Field of View (FoV) of 110 degrees (slightly better than ‘Standard’) and a single Ethernet (LAN) port.

What do you think of Starlink’s latest offering? 

The possibility of using Starlink satellite broadband to roam here in the UK is undoubtedly an exciting development in the world of tech. 

We’re hoping to see a reduction in price as the service evolves, but we’ll have to wait and see on that one. 

Could Starlink Satellite Broadband Help You or Your Business? 

If you’re interested in whether Starlink satellite broadband could provide your rural business or outdoor event with more reliable internet than the connection you’re currently on then get in touch with our friendly team today. 

Our Wi-Fi expert engineers are on hand to identify whether Starlink satellite broadband could be the right solution for you. 

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Starlink Latency – Is It Fast Enough to Hire for Events?

Network providers are constantly striving to improve performance to their service and Starlink engineering teams are no different. Starlink’s focus and goal is to deliver a service where the median latency is a stable 20ms with minimal packet loss. 

With customers and users across the globe, Starlink has managed to meaningfully reduce the median and worst-case latency over the past month. As an example, users in the US benefited from a reduction of 30% in median latency, taking it from 48.5ms to 22ms during peak times. Worst-case latency during peak times also dropped, this time by 60% from over 150ms to less than 65ms. 

Customers outside of the US have also enjoyed reduced median latency by up to 25% and worst-case latency by up to 35%. 

What is Latency?

Already we’ve talked a lot about latency – That’s what this article is about! Here’s a brief explanation of what latency actually is. 

Latency is generally measured in milliseconds, and refers to the amount of time it takes for a packet to be sent from your Starlink router to the internet and for the response to be received. This can also be referred to as RTT or “round-trip time.” 

For someone’s perceived experience of using the internet, latency is one of the most important factors. It can significantly affect things like:

  • The speed in which web pages load
  • How ‘real life’ audio and video calls feel
  • Responsiveness of online gaming

If you’re wondering actually how important latency is when it comes a user experience of using the internet, here’s an example. During testing, increasing the bandwidth beyond 10 Mbps didn’t increase the speed of which a web-page loaded, yet those that reduced latency saw much quicker load times. 

How Does Starlink Measure Latency?

Starlink’s latency is measured by collecting anonymous measurements from millions of Starlink routers. This measurement is taken every 15 seconds. The median and worst-case latencies are then calculated by taking the average of these 15 second latency measurements. 

Median Latency

The median (50th percentile or p50) refers to the point where half of the latency measurements are below that number and the other half are above. 

Worst-Case Latency

The worst-case latency, or 99th percentile, is defined as the place where 99% of measurements are better than a certain point. 

When Are These Measurements Taken?

Measurements are taken from all points in time so all data can be analysed, but Starlink do specifically look at how they are performing during peak times (between 6pm and 9pm). This is when most people are using a Starlink connection and the network is under the most load. 

What Affects Latency When Using a Starlink Connection?

There are a few factors that can affect latency in any network. For Starlink, the biggest things affecting latency are: 

  • Physical speed-of-light propagation from the user to the satellite and back to the ground.

    This goes back to the RTT (round trip time) we referred to earlier. Each part of the trip (there and then back) takes about 1.8 to 3.6 ms, with a total RTT of under 10 ms (usually).

    If traffic flows over laser links instead of directly to the ground, higher incidences of latency could occur. This would be as a result of congestion mitigation, lack of satellite to ground paths, and other factors.

    Laser connectivity is actually essential for connecting the most remote locations on Earth as well as for routing around congestion in the network. Starlink are however striving to make sure that latency sensitive traffic can flow over the shortest path possible. 
  • Ground latency from the gateway sites to the internet connection point driven by ground network layout.

    During 2024 the US will see the introduction of PoPs or Points of Presence, where Starlink has added 6 internet connect locations. They are optimising gateway locations and planning algorithms to ensure that traffic can land as close to its destination point as possible.

    Starlink continue to ensure that users are allocated to optimal internet connection locations, so that all users get the lowest latency possible route to the internet. 
  • Fronthaul (the radio links between the satellite and user) scheduling latency driven by the network topology and the number of users served by a given beam from a satellite.

    Over the past few months, Starlink’s major focus has been on optimising fronthaul scheduling latency, even though this is an inherent part of shared wireless systems. 
  • Non-physical limitations in the system.

    This would include unneeded processing delays, unoptimised buffers, or unnecessary packet drops that force retries.

    Buffers across the Starlink network have been right sized to reduce bufferbloat, and queueing algorithms have been improved to increase capacity on their gateway links from the ground to satellites. 


Starlink Wi-Fi latency has been improved, with the addition of active queue management (fq_codel) to the Starlink Wi-Fi router. What does this mean in real life? Well, with active queue management enabled, if one person on your Wi-Fi is downloading a big file, and another is playing a game, the queue management will make sure that game latency will not be affected by the download. 

How Are Starlink Striving to Reach the Goal of 20ms Latency?

Starlink has been monitoring and gaining metrics across the network to measure latency on every subsystem down to the microsecond over the past few months. They have rigorously tuned their algorithms to prefer paths with lower latency, no matter how small the difference and to remove any and all sources of unnecessary and non-physical latency. 

This is just a selection of some of the most impactful changes Starlink has made and continues to make. 

Since the beginning of the year, teams have deployed and tested 193 different satellite software builds, 75 gateway software builds, 222 Starlink software builds, and 57 Wi-Fi software builds. 

Over 2.6 million people around the world have chosen Starlink as their internet provider via satellite broadband. These customers can expect latency to continue to improve over the coming weeks and months as Starlink prioritises software changes, builds additional ground infrastructure, and launches more satellites. 

Future updates from Starlink are expected to include performance stats and more network goals as they work to improve the user experience. 

How Can I Check Starlink Latency For My Location? 

Be sure to check the latest latency statistics for your region at starlink.com/map.

Is Starlink Fast Enough to Hire for Events?

Absolutely! Here at Geekabit, we are delighted to be able to offer fast, reliable Wi-Fi via Starlink for a range of events and purposes across London and parts of the South of England. 

We’ve diligently tested what we can offer via Starlink when it comes to temporary Wi-Fi for outdoor events. Some of our test events included supporting policing events in London, hybrid meetings, rural wedding fairs and a busy city fireworks fundraising event. 

For more information on our Starlink hire service, please visit our blog. Fast Wi-Fi hire is available for events with Starlink hire from Geekabit. Feel free to contact us to find out more. 

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New Mini Dish and Mini Roam Service from Starlink Broadband 

Were you an early adopter of the ultrafast, low-latency Starlink broadband service from SpaceX? Then you may soon be invited to be part of the testing phase of Starlink’s new Mini Dish hardware terminal as well as their Mini Roaming service add-on. 

Quick Recap on Starlink Satellite Broadband Service

SpaceX Starlink currently has 6,171 LEO satellites in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of circa 550km. By the end of 2027 they will have added thousands more. 

Prices for UK customers generally start at £75 per month, plus Standard Plan hardware at a cost of £399. For these prices, the operator promises the following speeds:

  • Download – 25-100Mbps
  • Uploads – 5-10Mbps
  • Latency – 25-60ms 

By the end of last year, there were 42,000 Starlink customers in the UK (out of 2.3 million worldwide). This UK figure had almost quadrupled from the 13,000 UK customers in the previous year. 

Most UK Starlink customers can be found in more rural, remote areas. Those in the most remote areas (think oceans, small islands and places like Antarctica) will have the highest latency. 

Starlink Launch New Mini Dish and Mini Roam Service

Early adopters in the US have already been offered to purchase the new Mini Kit (Dish), with UK availability due to follow soon. 

This new Mini Dish is not only smaller (298.5mm x 259mm x 38.5mm) but also 63% lighter than the standard dish from Starlink. Other specifications include:

  • Operating temperature range – -30°C to 50°C 
  • Draws around 25-40 Watts on average
  • Can run directly off 12-48V DC ( the dish comes with a 110V power supply with 15m of cable)
  • Field of view (FoV) is 110 degrees, which is a bit better than the Standard dish
  • Has a single Ethernet (LAN) port
  • Can only be used whilst stationary (although a moving service may come later, likely for an additional cost)
  • The built-in Wi-Fi is only dual-band (3×3) 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) instead of Wi-Fi 6

Currently in the USA, customers who use the new Mini Roam service that accompanies the new Mini Dish will have 50GB of ‘mobile’ data’ that they can use anywhere. Customers who use more than that will be charged $1 per GB. 

How much does the new Mini Dish from Starlink cost?

The new Mini Kit (Dish) costs $599 (that’s £473 for us Brits) which is offered as part of a bundle with their new Mini Roam service for an extra $30 per month (which will be an additional £24 per month in the UK). 

Whilst this cost would be on top of the subscription you already pay, at the least the price of the hardware is expected to decrease in the future. 

What do SpaceX have to say about their new Mini Dish and Mini Roaming service?

As a customer of SpaceX Starlink satellite broadband, you may have received or soon be receiving an email stating the following: 

“Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go. Starlink Mini includes a built-in WiFi router, lower power consumption, DC power input, and max download speeds over 100Mbps.” 

“Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable. But in regions with high usage, where Starlink Mini places additional demand on the satellite network, we are offering a limited number of the Starlink Mini Kits to start for $599.” 

You can find the specifications for the Starlink Mini Dish on their website here and the set up guide here.

When will the UK get Starlink’s new Mini Dish and Mini Roaming service?

In the US, the initial deliveries of the Mini Dish kit are due to start in July 2024. Remember – This is currently still a bit of a trial product so we don’t yet know when this will be coming to the UK and how much the new Mini Dish kit will cost over here. 

But we’ll be watching this space! 

If you’re interested in whether Starlink satellite broadband could provide your rural business or outdoor event with more reliable internet than the connection you’re currently on then get in touch with our friendly team today. Our Wi-Fi expert engineers are on hand to identify whether Starlink satellite broadband could be the right solution for you. 

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How Does Starlink Compare to OneWeb?

What a time to be alive! Right above our heads, there’s a space race taking place in the skies between LEO satellite broadband providers Starlink and OneWeb. 

Making space-based connectivity a reality, these 2 private satellite-broadband companies are building worldwide networks to provide global satellite internet coverage through LEO satellites. 

You might think that they are direct competitors, but actually whilst Starlink and OneWeb are similar in many ways, they also significantly differ as well. 

So let’s take a look at how 2 of the most innovative companies of our generation compare when it comes to LEO satellite broadband.

What is Starlink?

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX has a division called Starlink. Starlink consists of a constellation of 6,078 Low Earth Orbit satellites that circle the Earth, aiming to make connectivity possible from anywhere for the average person.

2019 saw Starlink beginning to launch their first satellites, with their satellite broadband service now offering internet access to more than 30 countries. 

What is OneWeb?

Founded in 2012 and with investors consisting of the UK government, the Indian telecom firm Bharti Global and Japanese investment group Softbank group, OneWeb is a UK-based broadband satellite organisation that is rapidly expanding connectivity across the globe. CEO Neil Masterson says OneWeb is striving to “provide fibre where there’s no fibre.” 

How does Starlink compare to OneWeb?

Let’s take a closer look at the goals, technical specifications, constellations, performance and support of these satellite internet providers. 

Business Goals

Whilst to some, Starlink and OneWeb may be considered “rivals”, they are actually more like peers. In fact, SpaceX have even assisted OneWeb by launching 40 OneWeb satellites into orbit using SpaceX rockets. 

You may think this is odd, but actually they don’tsee themselves as direct competitors. They have differing business goals and objectives as well as target customers. 

Starlink Business Goal 

The business mission behind Starlink’s is to provide high-speed internet access to everyone. While that can and does include businesses, the primary aim for Starlink’s is to help residential customers. Especially those based in rural locations where the land-based infrastructure is lacking and connectivity is difficult. Of course, this applies to rural businesses as well.

OneWeb Business Goal

Whilst the business objective of OneWeb is similar, this UK-based company strives to supply high-speed internet to businesses across the globe (rather than residential customers) thus improving IoT. Consumers accessing OneWeb satellite broadband will do so through a secondary business. 

Technical Specifications

We can’t host a Starlink vs OneWeb article without looking at the tech specs now can we? 

Constellations

First let’s look at the constellations themselves. As we’ve already mentioned, both Starlink and OneWeb’s satellites are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – But interestingly they’re not anywhere near each other. Starlink satellites can be found at 550km/340mi from Earth, whereas OneWeb satellites orbit the planet at 1,200km/746mi from Earth. 

Starlink has a current fleet of 6,078 satellites in their constellation. They plan to have 7,500 by the end of 2027. OneWeb currently has 648 satellites in their LEO constellation. Although this is the number required for global coverage, they hope to expand to 7,000 satellites in the future. 

Whilst Starlink’s fleet might seem more impressive, let’s remember that both Starlink and OneWeb have different objectives and timelines – And both are currently on track to change connectivity through their satellite broadband offerings. 

Latency

In simple terms, broadband satellites work by sending and receiving data from Earth. Latency is the time it takes for data to travel back and forth. 

Starlink purport to offer a maximum latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds, with field testing finding an average of approximately 40 to 50 milliseconds. This is slightly lower latency than OneWeb, who promise latency of under 100 milliseconds.

Legacy broadband satellites generally have a latency of around 600 milliseconds or more, so both Starlink and OneWeb offer a significant improvement to the previous technology available. 

Bandwidth

Starlink and OneWeb both offer substantial bandwidth but each with distinctive features. 

Starlink Bandwidth

According to Starlink’s website, Starlink users can generally enjoy download speeds ranging from 25 to 220 Mbps. The majority of customers experience download speeds of over 100 Mbps. Upload speeds are usually found to be within 5 to 20 Mbps.

OneWeb Bandwidth

For those who have critical applications that require a certain bandwidth, OneWeb offers the option to purchase Committed Information Rate (CIR), which ensures a dedicated bandwidth for those applications that are business critical. 

OneWeb users can also choose the location of their ground station, allowing the routing of traffic to a specific area. 

As part of a demonstration prepared for the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), the company conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) test, establishing connectivity with its LEO constellation. 

A recent Proof of Concept test for the NCIA saw OneWeb achieve seamless streaming of 4K video feeds and simultaneous operation of various applications, including Microsoft Teams, Twitch, and Google Earth. It also saw download speeds of 195Mbps, upload speeds of 32 Mbps and latency as low as 70 milliseconds. A pretty impressive result.

Reliability

Let’s remember that Starlink and OneWeb both have slightly different business goals, so looking at the reliability of each in critical scenarios will shine a light on the different user needs and thus the suitability of each. 

Starlink has shown that it offers a highly reliable internet service, especially for users living in remote areas. It has been praised by reviewers worldwide for its high download and upload speeds. It has also shown itself to be a viable option for those where more traditional connectivity options are not available or reliable. 

Whilst it has been reported that there are the occasional hiccups (as with all internet provisions, let’s be honest) and its suitability questioned for critical situations and disasters like fires, in ‘normal’ day to day residential life, it performs well and provides reliable broadband where services were previously unavailable.

For larger scale businesses that require a consistent and trustworthy internet experience for critical operations, OneWeb is committed to meet the demand. 

It would appear that OneWeb can provide a dependable internet solution in difficult geographical landscapes where ordinary broadband wouldn’t be an option. Business users in hard to reach, remote locations can experience robust and consistent internet connections with OneWeb. Compared to terrestrial networks, OneWeb offers heightened reliability without susceptibility to weather-related disruptions. 

Customer Support 

If you’ve ever needed to speak to someone about an internet-related problem, then you’ll know how important good customer support is. This is no different in the satellite internet industry. 

Starlink’s Customer Support System

The customer support system from Starlink relies exclusively on email support, which could present some problems when trying to provide real-time assistance to users. 

OneWeb’s Support System

OneWeb offers an accessible and robust troubleshooting service with 24/7 customer support via telephone assistance. 

Starlink vs OneWeb – Quick Recap

As we’ve seen above, the performance, bandwidth, reliability, support systems, and target customer do vary between OneWeb and Starlink. Having an understanding of these differences can help users to identify which reliable, high-performance satellite internet solution would be best for their needs. 

StarlinkOneWeb
Number of Satellites6,078648
BandwidthMajority of users enjoy download speeds of 100 Mbps, ranging up to 220 MbpsDownload speeds up to 150 Mbps
ReliabilityReliable internet service, occasional hiccups reportedConsistent and trustworthy in challenging landscapes 
LatencyAdvertised: 20-40 ms, Field tests: 40-50 ms (Slightly better than OneWeb) Sub-100 millisecond latency 
Support SystemEmail support24/7 phone support
Consumer Base DynamicsConsumer-oriented, focusing on residential users in rural areasBusiness-focused with an emphasis on IoT 

Starlink Satellite Broadband with Geekabit 

For many UK SME’s who operate in more rural areas, Starlink satellite broadband can offer reliable internet where more traditional methods of connectivity are not an option. If you would like to speak to one of our Wi-Fi experts about whether Starlink satellite broadband could work for your business, then get in touch with our friendly team today. 

Starlink satellite broadband can also provide the ideal solution for outdoor events like festivals, shows and charity events – Especially if you have food and beverage vendors trying to take mobile payments! Here at Geekabit, we offer a Starlink broadband hired service – Find out more here. 

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SpaceX Starlink Set to Expand UK Broadband Capacity 

SpaceX is trying to increase the capacity of its ultrafast broadband via LEO (Low Earth Orbit) constellation of satellites by seeking approval from Ofcom to get a variation on its existing gateway. They plan to do this by increasing the number of gateway antennas at multipe UK sites and by adopting additional bands. 

Starlink LEO Satellites

At the moment, Starlink have a network of 5,289 LEO satellites. They orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 500km. 

SpaceX Starlink has approval to expand this number to approximately 7,500 satellites by the end of 2027. 

What is the Cost of Starlink Satellite Broadband? 

For UK customers, costs start at £75 per month. There is an additional cost for the £449 regular home kit which includes a standard dish, router and relevant kit. There is also a shipping fee of £20 on the Standard package. 

By the end of last year, Starlink had a global network of 2.3 million customers (now at 2.6m). 42,000 of those customers were based in the UK (which is up from 13,000 in 2022). Most of these UK customers are based in rural areas. 

Starlink Broadband Speed

The Standard Starlink broadband package promises download speeds of between 25 and 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps. It also offers latency times of 25-50 ms. 

What licenses do SpaceX currently hold for Starlink Satellite Broadband?

SpaceX Starlink currently holds multiple NGSO (Non-Geostationary Earth Station) gateway licenses to operate the network. These NGSO gateway licenses help to connect their NGSO system to the internet via large dishes on the ground. 

SpaceX is asking to update 4 of these in order to help boost capacity and meet the growing demand for its broadband services. This follows their recent upgrade to their latest Gen 2 satellites. 

In specific terms, SpaceX want Ofcom to give them permission to increase the number of antennas at 4 of their 7 sites:

  • Fawley
  • Isle of Man
  • Wherstead
  • Woodwalton

Currently, these 4 gateway sites are allowed to operate up to a 9 Ka-band parabolic antennas. These are used to operate their service to UK customers and those in adjacent countries. 

The request for approval to Ofcom from SpaceX includes:

  • An extra 24 antennas at Fawley, Wherestead and Woodwalton. This would bring the total to 32 antennas for these sites. 
  • These new antennas are planned to operate in bands 27.5-28.0525 GHz, 28.4445-29.0605 GHz, 29.4525-30GHz.
  • An extra 32 antennas at the site on the Isle of Man. This would bring the total to 40 for this site. SpaceX already have access to the frequencies they want to operate at for this site (27.5-30GHz).

The regulator’s consultation is open for responses until the 31st May 2024. They state that their initial assessment is that the requested variation from SpaceX should not:

  • Affect other licensed NGSO services
  • Future NGSO services
  • GSO services
  • Fixed links operating in the same user frequencies

Over in the US, SpaceX Starlink already have authorisation from the FCC for their Gen 1 constellation for 4,408 satellites and their Gen 2 constellation for 7,500. 

What are Starlink’s competitors upto?

Inmarsat (Viasat), another satellite operator, has also applied for an NGSO Earth Station Network License for its new GX-10 non-geostationary orbiting satellite system. 

Inmarsat also plan to extend the coverage of their existing Global Xpress satellite system over the polar region. This will provide communication services to government, defence, aero and maritime commercial customers. 

Whilst their primary focus for their service area is latitudes above 65N, their satellites will also provide intermittent service over parts of the UK. 

Their service will use the Ka-band frequencies 19.7 – 20.2GHz and 29.5 – 30GHz, and whilst Ofcom are consulting on this until the 31st May, they have provisionally approved the request. 

Starlink Satellite Broadband Hire for Events from Geekabit

Did you know about Geekabit’s new service? We can provide your event – Indoor or outdoor – with Starlink satellite broadband hire, even in rural areas. 

If your event is being held in London, Hampshire, Sussex, Dorset or Wiltshire and you’re interested in reliable event internet then get in touch with our Wi-Fi experts today. 

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Starlink: Latency Improvements on SpaceX Broadband Network

Starlink from Elon Musk’s Space X mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit have revealed the progress they’ve made so far in improving the latency performance. 

Their goal is to deliver a service with a stable 20 millisecond median latency and minimal packet loss. 

Starlink LEO Satellites

At the moment, Starlink have a network of 5,289 LEO satellites. They orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 500km. 

SpaceX Starlink has approval to expand this number to approximately 7,500 satellites by the end of 2027. 

What is the Cost of Starlink Satellite Broadband? 

For UK customers, costs start at £75 per month. There is an additional cost for the £449 regular home kit which includes a standard dish, router and relevant kit. There is also a shipping fee of £20 on the Standard package. 

By the end of last year, Starlink had a global network of 2.3 million customers (now at 2.6m). 42,000 of those customers were based in the UK (which is up from 13,000 in 2022). Most of these UK customers are based in rural areas. 

Starlink Broadband Speed

The Standard Starlink broadband package promises download speeds of between 25 and 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps. It also offers latency times of 25-50 ms. 

What About Latency?

Satellites in a Low Earth Orbit constellation are significantly closer to earth than GEO or GSO platforms. GEO satellites usually sit about 35,000 km away, whereas the LEO satellites, like Starlink, are only 500 km away. 

This means that the signal for Starlink satellites only has to travel a relatively short distance, which is good when it comes to latency. 

What is Latency? 

Network latency is the amount of time it takes for a data packet to go from one place to another e.g. from your laptop or other device to a remote server and then back again.

The delay or time between the data packet going to the server and then back again is measured in milliseconds (1 second is equal to 1000 milliseconds). 

Broadband connections these days will usually have an average latency of between 4 ms to 40 ms.

What can affect latency? 

Latency can depend on many different factors for your individual connection, but in general terms, the faster score for latency (the shortest time) is always best. 

These latency times can be affected, amongst others, by:

  • The performance of remote internet servers
  • The connection technology being used
  • ISP network congestion
  • Routing problems
  • Network setup

Lowering latency is an important part of building a good user experience. Faster latency means:

  • Fast-paced online multiplayer games are smoother
  • Internet actions are more responsive
  • Video calls experience less sync problems
  • And much more!

What are Starlink’s Latency Improvements?

The Starlink satellite broadband network from Space X is slowly delivering improvements in terms of latency. 

The latest update from Starlink claims that users around the world will have meaningfully reduced median and worst case latency. 

Customers in the USA can benefit from a 30% reduction in median latency, going from 48.5ms to 333ms during peak times. 

Worst case latency at peak times has also been reduced from 150ms to 65ms which is a 60% improvement. 

And it’s not just the United States that are enjoying lower latency. Outside the USA, the median latency has been reduced by up to 25% and worst-case latencies have been reduced by up to 35%. 

The stats are below if you want to take a look.

How do they measure Starlink latency?

Starlink’s latency is measured by operator who collect anonymous measurements from millions of Starlink routers every 15 seconds. 

The median and worst-case latencies are calculated using these 15 second average latencies. 

They look at latency across different time periods but focus on performance at peak times.  This tends to be 6-9pm local time to the router, which is when the Starlink network is under the most load and the biggest number of people are connected. 

Starlink’s Latency in 2024

Between January and March this year, monitoring and metrics have been added across the Starlink network in order to measure the latency on every subsystem down to the microsecond. 

Their algorithms are programmed to prefer lower latency pathways, even if the difference is only small, to mitigate and remove as many sources of unnecessary latency as possible, 

Software changes, additional ground infrastructure and the launch of more satellites are all being prioritised in order to continue to improve latency over the coming weeks and months, 

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Will BT EE Boost UK Mobile and Broadband Services with Starlink? 

It has been reported that National telecoms giant BT (EE) has been in talks regarding plans to harness SpaceX’s ultrafast low-latency broadband via their Starlink LEO (low earth orbit) satellite constellation. This could help improve internet as well as mobile connectivity to those in more remote, rural areas.  

Have BT Used Satellite Technology Before?

This isn’t the first time BT has helped deliver digital connectivity by channelling satellite technology. One example is the SaT5G (Satellite and Terrestrial /Network for 5G) project, supporting the development of solutions for integrating a standard commercially available 5G core network into a live satellite network.

BT is also running trials for rural broadband and mobile connectivity in the UK with OneWeb (rivals of Starlink) backed by the government. 

Recent reports revealed that BT is testing the Starlink system at its Adastral Park research centre near Ipswich. This is just one of the ways they are attempting to solve the continuing issue of getting reliable internet to those in hard to reach locations in the most rural, remote parts of the UK. Of course, consumers can already just sign up to Starlink’s satellite broadband service.

What is Starlink?

Here is some basic information if you’re new to everything Starlink satellite broadband. 

Starlink LEO Satellites

At the moment, Starlink have a network of 5,289 LEO satellites. They orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 500km. 

SpaceX Starlink has approval to expand this number to approximately 7,500 satellites by the end of 2027. 

Cost of Starlink Satellite Broadband

For UK customers costs start at £75 per month. There is an additional cost for the £449 regular home kit which includes a standard dish, router and relevant kit. There is also a shipping fee of £20 on the Standard package. 

Starlink Broadband Speed

The Standard Starlink broadband package promises download speeds of between 25 and 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps. It also offers latency times of 25-50 ms. 

Starlink’s New Direct to Cell Mobile Roaming Service

On top of that, Starlink is also in the process of launching its new global Direct to Cell mobile roaming service for use with regular unmodified Smartphones, which would require support from both a mobile network and Ofcom in order to launch in the UK. EE would clearly be a good fit for something like this, given the BT Group’s wider experience in the field. We wrote all about this last week, you can read it here. 

How Many Customers Do Starlink Have in the UK?

1.83% of Starlink’s current customers are based in the UK. Starlink has 2.3 million customers worldwide, with 42,000 of them residing in the UK. This is up from 13,000 UK based customers last year. 

Will BT EE Utilise Starlink Satellite Broadband for Business Customers?

The report that came out last weekend suggests that the current talks going on between BT EE and Starlink are looking at business broadband solutions and providing mobile connectivity to remote sites such as oil rigs out at sea.

It doesn’t look like BT are interested in just reselling Starlink’s broadband product, but instead are looking at it as a viable way to complement their own terrestrial connectivity services. 

When Will Satellite Connectivity Support Broadband and Mobile Services?

As things currently stand, we don’t know when we see satellite connectivity become fully fledged products that can be a viable solution to supporting broadband and mobile connectivity in rural and remote areas. 

The satellite solutions mentioned in this article are currently still in the early Proof of Concept trial stages. Having said that, although there is no guarantee that BT will use Starlink satellite broadband to bolster their broadband and mobile customers in more rural / remote areas, particularly businesses, it’s certainly exciting to know that discussions are taking place that this could be a possible solution in the future. 

Hire Starlink Satellite Broadband with Geekabit

We’ll be keeping a close eye on how this situation develops. 

As a company committed to helping businesses stay connected with reliable broadband – Using traditional methods as well as mobile and satellite options –  we are excited at the prospect of Starlink satellite broadband going further to help businesses in rural areas. 

If you are interested in Satellite broadband as an internet service provider option for your business or event, then get in touch with our Wi-Fi Experts today. We have Starlink satellite broadband kit ready to hire! Contact us here.  

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First 6 LEO Broadband Satellites for Mobile Service Launched by Starlink

The first week of January saw SpaceX launch their first 6 satellites to support their new ‘Direct to Cell’ product. This brings them steps closer to Starlink’s constellation of ultrafast broadband LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites being able to offer a global 4G mobile service.

A Quick Starlink 101

Here is some basic information if you’re new to everything Starlink satellite broadband. 

Starlink LEO Satellites

At the moment, Starlink have a network of 5,289 LEO satellites. They orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 500km. 

SpaceX Starlink has approval to expand this number to approximately 7,500 satellites by the end of 2027. 

Cost of Starlink Satellite Broadband

For UK customers costs start at £75 per month. There is an additional cost for the £449 regular home kit which includes a standard dish, router and relevant kit. There is also a shipping fee of £20 on the Standard package. 

Starlink Broadband Speed

The Standard Starlink broadband package promises download speeds of between 25 and 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps. It also offers latency times of 25-50 ms. 

What’s New for SpaceX Starlink Satellite Broadband?

SpaceX Starlink signed agreements back in 2022 enabling them to launch a global space-based 4G mobile network. 

The network will be called Direct to Cell and will connect satellites to unmodified smartphones on the ground. 

How will the Starlink 4G Network work?

The satellites with the capability to connect from space to Smartphones on the ground will have an advanced eNodeB modem onboard. This allows network integration similar to a standard roaming partner, essentially acting like a cellphone tower in space.

Supported by mobile operator T-Mobile, originally the first beta test products were supposed to launch by the end of 2023 in select areas of the USA (for example Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico). With the launch of the first 6 at the beginning of January this year, things are obviously running a little behind. 

These first 6 Direct to Cell capable Starlinks were launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket alongside a batch of 15 other Starlink birds.

The testing phase is expected to eventually involve 840 4G capable satellites, transmitting 4G mobile to roughly 2,000 unmodified Smartphones on the ground. 

According to SpaceX, they plan to launch a basic text service sometime this year, offering SMS, MMS and ‘participating messaging apps’ messaging. 

Voice services (ie. the ability to make calls) and data services (being able to use a slow mobile broadband connection) is due to follow sometime next year (2025). 2025 will also hopefully see the ability to connect to Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Will we be able to use Starlink 4G mobile in the UK?

Unfortunately at this stage, Starlink doesn’t have supporting access agreements for these services with any cellular providers in the UK. We are one of a few countries with cellular providers yet to support Starlink 4G mobile. 

Hopefully we will know soon who it’s likely to be! Both Vodafone and EE (BT) have experience with satellite solutions (they are testing rival systems!) so they may be the ones to watch. 

Who Are Starlink’s Current Global Direct to Cell Partners?

Providers who are ready to support Starlink 4G mobile in some countries are:


T-Mobile (USA)
Optus (Australia)
Rogers (Canada)
One NZ (New Zealand)
KDDI (Japan)
Salt (Switzerland)
ENTEL (CHILE)
Entel (PERU)

Can Starlink 4G Mobile Compete With Our Current 4G Mobile Broadband Offering?

At this stage, not really. Elon Musk has himself said that these first Direct to CEll capable Starlink satellites can only support data speeds of  “~7Mb per beam and the beams are very big, so while this is a great solution for locations with no cellular connectivity, it is not meaningfully competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks.”

In other words, Starlink 4G Mobile services will be beneficial to those in rural areas that struggle with more traditional forms of broadband connectivity and 4G cellular networks, but not to those already reliably using 4G networks. 

For those that want the tech bit – Information shared last year on the subject detailed that the Direct to Cell system will be able to provide “theoretical peak speeds of up to either” 3Mbps or 7.2Mbps peak upload (Earth-to-Space) over 1.4MHz or 5MHz bandwidth channels per beam, respectively, and up to either 4.4Mbps or 18.3Mbps on the downlink (Space-to-Earth) over the same bandwidth channels per beam using LTE (4G) technology.

It’s also worth remembering that we don’t yet know the costs of this type of global roaming. To compete with traditional roaming services, it’s going to need to be a competitive cost. Although, those who struggle to get any connection at all where they’re based may be willing to pay a bit more if it means getting a reliable connection. 

What Potential Issues Might Starlink 4G Mobile Be Facing? 

SpaceX are already facing some challenges in the USA. There are concerns about spectrum interference, particularly from AT&T (formerly known as the American Telephone and Telegram Company) who are also in the testing stages of a rival solution AST SpaceMobile and Omnispace who are also combining mobile roaming with the scope of satellite for a global 5G network. 

There are likely to be similar disputes in other markets too, seeing as the Starlink 4G network needs reciprocal access and spectrum agreements with mobile operators. They will also need support from regulators and ground stations across the world. 

Starlink 4G Mobile via satellites from SpaceX is certainly an intriguing development and we’re keen to see how this plays out throughout 2023 and beyond. Let’s watch this space! 

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Geekabit’s Top 10 Blogs of 2023

2023 is coming to a close – And we know the new year will bring new technology and wireless improvements with it!

Here at Geekabit, we covered a lot of different Wi-Fi topics last year here on the blog. Much of what we write about is influenced by the enquiries and questions that our customers and clients ask our Wi-Fi Experts across Winchester, London and Cardiff. This year we’ve seen an increase in demand for 4G/5G broadband and Starlink Satellite broadband options, particularly for homes and businesses in rural areas.

We thought we would take a look back on the last year and see what blogs were most popular with you – Our readers!

In at Number 10, this blog had people wondering whether scientists could watch we are doing through walls!

Can Scientists Use Wi-Fi to Watch Us Through Walls? 
#10

Number 9 was all about finally getting 5G on the London Underground so you can stay connected whilst travelling around the capital.

London Underground: 5G Deployed by Virgin Media O2 UK 
#9

With Ubiquiti UniFi devices increasing in popularity, it’s no surprise that this fault finding blog about flashing lights on access points made it in at number 8.

Why Are My Ubiquiti UniFi Access Points Flashing?
#8

Here at Geekabit, we’ve talked a lot about how impactful broadband can be for rural businesses. This blog about unreliable broadband for rural businesses came in at number 7.

Small Rural UK Businesses Damaged by Unreliable Broadband
#7

It seems you all want to know how to choose and install a 4G and 5G mobile broadband antenna, as this blog telling you how narrowly missed being in our top 5 blogs of the year.

How To Choose and Install an External 4G or 5G Mobile Broadband Antenna
#6

Kicking us off in the top 5 was where best to place your router for successful results.

‘Where is the best place to put my Wi-Fi router?’
#5

Taking the 4th spot was a look into 2023 and what it had in store for us in the world of Wi-Fi.

2023 and Beyond: Wi-Fi Alliance Says All Roads Lead to Wi-Fi 
#4

In 3rd place was another blog on 4G and 5G mobile broadband, answering all your frequently asked questions.

4G and 5G Mobile Broadband Antennas: Frequently Asked Questions
#3

Narrowly missing the top spot, this blog about discounted Starlink Satellite Ultrafast Broadband here in the UK was one of your most popular reads this year.

Discounted Starlink Satellite Ultrafast Broadband for UK Customers
#2

And taking the top spot for most read Geekabit blog of 2023 was this one about the rise of UK Starlink broadband speeds.

UK Starlink Broadband Speeds Rise
#1

So it seems our readers were most looking for information on Starlink Satellite broadband and 4G/5G mobile broadband options. Does that mean that consumers and business broadband customers are interested in alternative Wi-Fi options for their homes and businesses?

We’re looking forward to what 2024 will bring in the tech world and seeing how that impacts all things Wi-Fi and staying well connected.

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New Dish and Router for Satellite Broadband Service Launched from Starlink

Back in March 2021, we first wrote about Starlink and what it was all about (you can read that original blog here). Now, we’re writing about the next development in all things Starlink with a third-generation in terminal hardware for us in homes. This global constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellites from SpaceX will see it’s latest generation of hardware offering better durability for customers on standard plans and higher performance in terms of speed.

What is Starlink Satellite Broadband?

If you skipped the link above to our original blog, then here are the main things to know about Starlink. 

The Starlink network is currently made up of approximately 5,077 LEO satellites, with plans to add around 7,500 more by the end of 2027. 

How much does Starlink satellite broadband cost?

The regular home kit costs £449 plus £20 shipping fee, consisting of the standard dish, router etc. UK customers then pay £75 per month.

How fast is Starlink satellite broadband?

On the standard package, you could expect:

  • Fast latency times of 25-50ms
  • Circa 25-100 Mbps download speeds
  • Circa 5-10 Mbps upload speeds

Currently, only new customers opting for the standard residential plan will be able to get this new third-generation kit. 

GEN3 Starlink Terminal Hardware – What’s New?

Last week, Starlink updated their website with this new third-generation terminal equipment including dish, router and the other bits needed to get you online. Not only are these GEN3 items cheaper to manufacture, they are also touted as providing better performance for new customers. 

So what are the improvements with the new Starlink hardware? 

Dish:

  • The new dish is bigger, also coming with an improved environmental protection rating of IP67 (up from IP54)
  • It comes with a wider field of view (110° up from 100°)
  • The antenna (or dish)  has a default configuration with a simple manually oriented kickstand where it can receive a signal just by facing the sky without obstruction (instead of automatic motorised rotation)

Router:

  • Wi-Fi 6 support is now included with the new router (improved from Wi-Fi 5) (although it’s worth noting that only support for WPA2 encryption is listed, instead of the usual WPA3 you tend to find with Wi-Fi 6 kit)
  • It is now a tri-band device (instead of dual band)
  • The router has 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports (instead of an adapter)
  • It has improved durability with water resistance rating of IP56 (up from IP54)

Are there any disadvantages with the new Starlink hardware?

After we’ve talked about all the pros, there are a few things to note with the new hardware that might be considered cons. 

  • The new third-generation router is not compatible with mesh systems that are not their own which means you need to use their second- and third-generation mesh nodes.
  • The power consumption of the new dish has increased from 50-75W to 75-100W, which could impact your electricity bill. (As a comparison, one standard router tends to use between 7 and 15 watts on a fixed line broadband connection. 

For full details of the new Starlink Kit Specifications, head to their website. 

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